


How To Train Your Cat

by katmarajade



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Cats, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 15:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2817857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katmarajade/pseuds/katmarajade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Geordi gets frustrated while cat sitting, Data thinks about what it means to be a cat owner and a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How To Train Your Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Shygryf as part of my annual holiday gift fic series. Takes place during Force of Nature (Season 7, episode 9)

When Geordi asks to borrow Spot for 24 hours to see what owning a cat is like, Data agrees right away. For one thing, Geordi is his best friend, and Data has learned over the years that acquiescing to odd requests or "favors" is an important part of human friendships. Also, Data appreciates having Spot in his life. A cat can be a very calming influence and offers a sense of "home" to his quarters, and he finds that tending to her daily needs gives him a better concept of "family" and an important reason to return to his quarters regularly. Data believes that, for those reasons, a cat would prove beneficial to Geordi's emotional wellbeing. He also believes that Geordi will find great pleasure in owning a cat, because the experience has been such a positive one for Data.

If they both have cats, then it will give them yet another topic to discuss and another coinciding interest. Similar interests are an important part of lasting human friendships.

However, Geordi does not react well to the experience. His difficulty dealing with a cat is curious, because Data knows that Geordi's sister has several cats and that in the past Geordi has claimed familiarity with them. Instead, Geordi responds emotionally, irrationally blaming Spot for having feline tendencies and claiming she requires training.

Unconvinced that it will be successful, Data nonetheless rises to the task of training Spot, because Geordi recommends it. Part of friendship is performing tasks, even those that are unlikely to result in a successful outcome, because they will make the other person happy.

His efforts to train Spot are not effective at first, but there is a certain allure to the challenge of determining whether or not he can change her behavior. Therefore, he finds it strange when after only one short session with Spot, Geordi immediately jumps to the conclusion that Spot is untrainable. Then Geordi makes a comment about Spot having Data trained, and Data recognizes that there is some truth to that. Though his best friend obviously considers it a failing, Data has come to the conclusion that by paying attention to Spot's cues and being conscientious to her needs, his cat behaves well—at least for a pet.

What Geordi does not seem to realize, however, is that Geordi also has Data trained. In order to be a good friend, Data knows he must pay attention to human cues so that he can respond appropriately. It has taken several years to categorize all of Geordi's specific cues, but Data now recognizes the vast majority, which makes him better able to interact with his best friend.

It is obvious that Geordi, possessing human instincts, does not see those parallels. Perhaps Geordi is not serious about being a cat owner and this was yet another strange human whim. If he is serious though, then he will need to accept the logical premise that cats will act like cats, just as humans will act like humans.

For now, however, Geordi has asked for his assistance on another project, and, as always, Data is happy to help.

That is what a best friend does. 


End file.
